The wearing of plural stringed instruments, e.g., two guitars, is desirable at times. For example, a typical situation is where a band has limited personnel and a particular piece of music calls for several guitars, e.g., a twelve-stringed guitar and a six-stringed guitar. In such a situation the guitar player would have to set one instrument down before picking the other one up for playing or wear both guitars in close proximity to each other. The latter situation is the more desirable because the guitar player is able to move quickly and fluidly from one instrument to the other without losing a sense of continuity in the performance of a particular piece of music.
There are problems with configurations for plural stringed instruments. Typically, the configurations are bulky, and the instruments are in fixed relation to each other. The bulkiness makes the instruments unwieldy and difficult to play. The fixed or rigid relation between the instruments, e.g., a double-necked guitar, limits the number of spatial arrangements possible between the instruments. Stringed instruments are often played in a variety of situations and by a variety of players. Rigidly connected multiple stringed instruments are therefore usually designed with one player in mind (or one position in mind).
Notwithstanding the attendant problems associated with such multiple instrument configurations, examples and teachings of such configurations exist. Double-necked guitars and the like are typically a one piece connection or two rigidly connected guitars.
CONKLIN GUITARS provides QUICK-CONNECT DOUBLE-NECK guitars. These are rigidly connected guitars with traditional head stock mounted tuning gears. These are available from the company at P.O. Box 1418, Lebanon, Mo., 65536. There is a patent application pending.
One piece construction formats containing plural instruments are known. Examples of such instruments are: U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 34,476; 964,660; 1,183,369; 1,759,736; Italian Pat. No. 689,931; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,250,319; and 4,343,217.
Reverse strung guitars are known. Examples of such instruments are: U.S. Pat Nos. 3,251,257; 4,201,108; East German Pat. No. 148,174; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,192,213; Re. 31,722; 4,576,080; Des. 278,632; and 4,241,637. Reverse strung guitars heretofore have not been constructed to be flexibly connected to other guitars. Accordingly, they suffer from protruding or inconveniently located tuning means. Such inconveniently located tuning means present difficulties to players having several such instruments depending from their necks. This is because when instruments are connected in close proximity and in substantially coplanar alignment one instrument must be reached over to play a lower instrument.
The present invention provides structure and function to enable the comfortable playing of plural stringed instruments. The instruments are reverse strung, stream lined, light weight, constructed to be flexibly connected, and with no interference with the rearward mounted tuning means.